Don't Play at Night
12:08 AM I’m the only one in the house who isn’t asleep. No matter how hard I try, I’m lifted out of my swirling pool of exhaustion, and back into reality. There’s nothing I can do about it. I sigh, disappointed at my body’s stubbornness. Then, a thought comes across my mind: what better way to spend this cold winter night then play some videogames? I pull my tablet out from a pillowcase in which I hid it, unbeknownst to my folks. With a few clicks and taps of the device, I come face to face with the Minecraft title screen. The screen illuminates my room in a multicolored glow, each color representing a block shown on the surface of the tablet, all mashed up in a beautiful, gleaming light source. Beautiful. Upon tapping on the “singleplayer” button, I proceed to make a new survival world. Then I hit, “create a new world”. And I stare in anticipation, as the loading screen works its magic. 12:12 AM I find myself on a small island with not more than a couple of trees and a group of wandering sheep. Clouds hover over the vast ocean, and the sun shines with no signs of stopping. But I know for a fact that daylight can’t thrive forever, and the monster-infested night would soon come. So, I sprint towards the nearest tree and harvest its logs. After crafting a crafting table and boat, I set off on the open seas, seeking a much bigger island to live on. Except, there is no land to be seen. By now its nighttime and I am slowly being pursued by a hoard of Drowned. I don’t give up, however. I continue sailing onward, envisioning even the slightest shred of sand and grass, residing in the seemingly endless ocean. But no matter how long I search, nothing would pop up. And before long, the sun melts over the horizon a second time. At this point, I’m pretty flustered, but my brain feels to stimulated to go back to sleep, so I continue playing. 12:30 AM Upon seeing a small shape in the distance I stop. Looking closer, I lighten up and immediately sail forward, letting go of all my worries. Engulfed in the mist I set for my not-so-beefy-computer, I see yet another island. I couldn’t be happier. But as the landmass comes into view more, I suddenly am dropped into a state of utter confusion. I’m hit with a serious case of déjà vu, as I see the left-over leaves from the tree, I had chopped down just minutes ago, including the family of sheep. I hop out of my boat and onto land, scanning the area. No doubt about it, this is where I spawned. But how could this be? I couldn’t recall turning around, hell, I was pretty sure I went straight the entire time! I nod absentmindedly, trying to rationalize the situation. Perhaps I did turn around, and I was too tired to realize. No matter, I think to myself, I’ll just set up a little makeshift shelter here and seek out newer land the following days. And with that, I place down my crafting table and finally give myself the opportunity to assemble some basic wooden tools. Following that, I slaughter some of the sheep, leaving two of them alive for the purpose of breeding. I also collect some cobblestone, using it to construct a 4x4 survival house to sleep away the monster-infested night with ease. Everything is going well. Nevertheless, I am still confused as to how I got back here. Surely, there was something else out there. Whoever heard of a vanilla Minecraft world with not more than a single island surrounded by deserted blue? I shake my head furiously, trying to keep myself from drifting off. 12:35 AM It's amazing how fast you can progress through the game in just five minutes. I had already cultivated half of the island and planted seeds. In no time, I would have some wheat to expand the population of sheep. I also discovered a small cave with some iron, though it ended at a dead end. Oh well, at least there were more opportunities under the surface than above. I continue about my business until the sun sets a third time. Hastily, I slap a white bed on the dirt, as if I was trying to get rid of the invisible dust covering the sheets. And with that, I hop in and watch as the screen fades to black. That’s when I hear it. A sound that bounced around inside my earphones, provoking me to quickly click out of my bed. I looked around, frightened as the sound still thrived. It sounded like a chorus of ancient bells, all vibrating out of sync in a dark cavern. I realize it was not more than a cave sound. Damn, I think, my night couldn’t get any better, could it? The mystified recordings are only one of the things that emphasize the sheer creepiness of the darkness. Its as if the world goes completely silent during the nighttime, and nothing moves. Not even neutral animals. It’s as clear as crystalized Pepsi that the nighttime always seems to have a different influence on the world, and the monsters that come out during this time, only push the fact higher. As I think about all this, a sense of fear wells in my stomach. Nevertheless, I don’t stop playing. And I don’t know why. 12:58 AM A feeling begins to boil deep down in my gut. A feeling no other than the fact that I’m being watched. It started out as some farfetched illusion. Way off in the distance, beyond the foggy atmosphere, I could see the shape of what looked like another player just standing there in midair. It was black and almost looked like a bobby pin from the distance I was away from it. Though I couldn’t really tell what it was because my crosshair was in the way. I just ignored it. But as time went on, the shape became more tangible, seemingly. More noticeable. It gave me the chills, so much so that I lost my patience and crafted yet another boat to set off once again on the open seas; just to see what that thing was. But as I got closer, the thing just disappeared. By then it had to be something. I swore that I could see its arms swaying, but there was no way I could confirm it. In the blink of an eye, it was gone. And so, I went back to the island and continue to expand it. Sadly, however, I can’t get the itchy, undying feeling off my back. 1:01 AM As I continue to play, I begin to feel... .depressed, in a way. I already made a pen for the family of sheep that expanded widely over the course of a few days, mined at least a dozen diamonds, and looted a few mob spawners, along with expanding my shelter and making it seem more modern. But now, I was just plain bored. There was basically nothing on this island for me. No purpose, no fun. I contemplate whether I should leave the island in search of more or stay in order to not get lost. I had a jack-ton of precious items, some of them I would have to leave behind. And I worked harder than I ever did in that house. It just seemed wrong to up and abandon what I worked on for the past excruciatingly long hour. Fortunately, and unfortunately, my decision is made upon seeing the black figure once again as I was pacing back and forth in the game. This time it appears much closer to my island, undoubtedly representing some sort of player model. The only major difference I could point out before it vanished once again, was its head, which appeared to be on backwards, so the front is facing the back and there is no overhanging chin. I’m understandably shocked and release my hands from the screen, attempting to stop all movement so I could get a clear look at the entity. Disappointingly, my avatar took a few extra steps out of pure lag and ended up in the water. Upon turning around to catch another glimpse of the entity, I simply see an empty space of water where the thing once was. 1:11 AM Enough is enough. I decide to leave the island, though I’m not sure if its because there is some sort of serious glitch involving a cropped player model lurking about, or just the increasing boredom. Whatever the reason is, I have one goal: to find a new place. I don’t care if it’s an island just as small as the godforsaken one I’m on now, I just want to be somewhere other than here. After placing down the boat from before on the dark blue surface, I set sail once again. As I continued on my journey, I notice the fog around me is getting thicker. So thick in fact that the sky is no longer visible. And the world just seems dead silent. I could no longer hear the splashing of my ores or the rippling of water. Looking down, I see no underwater vegetation or any lifeform. Not even any drowned. Just sand and gravel. Like the old days. At this point, I don’t know what to think. The world just seems lifeless. Deep down, I know something is wrong. I’m simply too tired to realize that fully. 1:15 AM Once again, I feel that I’m not alone. As the paranoia builds up, I find myself looking for something besides rather than undiscovered land. Something that shouldn’t be here. I’m absolutely sure the game is just being buggy, perhaps I accidentally switched to an older version that just stopped working. Nevertheless, I am still pretty creeped out. The world just seems to quite and lifeless. As I continue forward, the scenery around me gets even darker, as if someone struck me with a potion of blindness. At this very moment I know there is something more going on, but what can I do about it? I began to really hope that this is all a dream. Maybe if I were to pinch myself, everything would go back to normal, and I could play the game in peace. I know that’s not the case though. A thought suddenly hits me, something I wish I had thought of before: Why don’t I just make a new world? There is no use in going back to sleep, my mind must be to stimulate. I might as well enjoy the limited time I have. It will be Saturday, so my folks should give me a chance to sleep in. I scoot up against the wall my bed is facing, getting into the most reasonable and comfortable position and rub my eyes promptly, before grabbing my tablet once again. and deleting the world. Now for some real fun. 1:17 AM “What in the world?” I quickly clamp my hands over my mouth and listen carefully to see if there was any response to the abrupt remark I just made. Then, I look back down on my bedsheets where I dropped the device upon seeing something utterly bizarre. No.. .it couldn’t be. I slap my fingers on the tablet and steer my avatar’s view the get a good glimpse of the scenery. An island... .a family of sheep.. .two trees. My heart comes to a halt. Could this be the same world that I thought I deleted? At this point, I think I’m going insane and begin the walk around the island. Memories from just an hour ago flood my mind as I traverse the small, almost desolate landmass. Maybe I just dreamt I deleted the world. It was the only plausible explanation my not-so-openminded-self could come up with. I shook my head wildly. This was not going to end like this. I tapped a button in an attempt to access the world menu once again. Only it wouldn’t show up. I tapped the button over and over until my fingers turned into angry white fists. Okay, I think, suddenly stopping, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, I should just try and get some sleep. This isn’t good for my mind. I shrug in defeat, with only 20% on my tablet to justify. I proceed to turn off the device and try to get some shuteye. Little do I know; the night isn’t over just yet. 3:00 AM An eerie humming noise seeps through my pillows and wanders into my ears, triggering my tired eyes to swing open. I blindly feel my way around the bed before feeling a slightly warm sensation on my fingertips as a bright light shadows my groggily eyesight. I grip onto what I perceive is my tablet and bring it closer to my face to see the Samsung symbol being displayed on the screen. I assume I must’ve turned it on somehow while I was asleep. Before I can turn it off however, I’m brought face-to-face with the Minecraft title screen. Now I’m really confused. I notice the screen starts glitching insanely, mismatching the letters that spell the game’s title. My vision comes into focus now and I can see the background shifting from beautiful trees and neutral animals to dark red netherrack and decaying zombie pigmen. I dropped the device. I’m understandably shocked. And at this point I’m absolutely sure I’m not dreaming. For the past two excruciatingly long hours things in the game were acting strangely. And it was all in preparation for whatever this was. Why hadn’t I realized it earlier? I suddenly snap out of my trance of terror and grab onto the device once more, squeezing it so hard I can feel it start to bend. I slide my sweaty palms up the bumpy sides, fumbling around in the darkness for the shutoff button. The screen itself only becomes even frightening, with the nether background slowly glitching in and out of existence. Through the wild glitching, I can see a face with dark and scaly flesh, including lighting green eyes that stared directly at me. I held back the urge to scream. There had to be a realistic explanation to this, the game couldn’t be haunted. As I try to rationalize the situation, I find the screen fading and reappearing as the world-select page, then fading in once more and coming back with my latest world. The one I never dared to return to. But what choice do I have? 3:05 AM After tirelessly pacing through my room, I finally come to a decision: to join that forsaken world. Whatever was happening was certainly unnatural and bizarre, but what could go wrong? Whatever this thing is that is taking over my device couldn’t harm me in anyway, could it? Then again, I do appear to be easily manipulated. If this thing does want me to continue playing, its plan is almost fulfilled. But on the other hand, it is my choice to investigate. I won’t let it take over me. How hard could it be? Despite my great fear, I know I am somewhat safe. And I’m not going to let this mysterious entity mess with me any longer. But deep down, I know it won’t be easy. 3:06 AM I crawl back on my bed and observe the still active screen. Nothing out of the ordinary seems to present itself, but I know what I saw earlier was not some strange nightmare. There is no telling what could happen if I click the play button. Nevertheless, curiosity is like a bolder that can only be lifted of your back in two ways: the first, is to let it go. But as I said earlier, I have no choice. Not if this being ceases bothering me. And I’m sure you know what the seconed way is. Which is the exact one I go with. So with that, I join the world. Everything appears normal as the chunks set in. My cobblestone house stands tall as I had left it, the sheep mope around tirelessly feeding on the grass in their wooden fences, and the omnipresent fog thrives. Still, I refuse to let my guard down. I reluctantly type to the seemingly lifeless world: Alright, I’m here. Show yourself! I never thought I would type something in a singleplayer world. What would the point of that be? In this case, I end up scaring myself even more than that thing did just mineuts ago. Perhaps I am going insane. And to be honest, that would be better than actually facing the reality that there is an entity haunting my world and harassing me nonstop. With no visible response, I set off on yet another exploration. Crafting a boat and gathering everything I need for my avatar’s survival, I set sail again. Only this time, I know there is something waiting for me. 3:32 AM Nothing. Nothing has happened. I’ve been staring at nothing but the ocean for so long I begin to have recurring hallucinations of the black player-like entity appearing and disappearing on my screen within a matter of seconds, each time getting closer and closer. . .but maybe they aren’t hallucinations. . .maybe that thing is actually stalking me. There is no telling. I begin to feel that the world is closing in on me. Not just in game, but in reality. A dark haze forms and I shake it away. Despite my excitement, I’m still very tired. It will only be a matter of time before I fall flat on my face, snoring. Something odd that I noticed as the time passed is that the tablet remained at 20% the entire time, nothing more. Could whatever be haunting my world be keeping my device alive as well? It doesn’t seem possible, but then again, everything that happened the past hour doesn’t seem possible either. All I know is, it will don’t be a matter of time before something else happens. 3:35 AM That’s when I see it in the distant fog. My island. A red glow emanates from where my house is. Confused, I sail towards the island, only for the horrific reality to hit me like a brick. The interior of my cobblestone home is engulfed in flames, every block darkening in texture. As I continue to stare in horror, I notice the blocks begin to take on a different shape, turning into globs of melted material that would soon dissipate. Soon enough my house would be reduced to atoms. I also notice that the family of sheep are dead. Meaty chunks of their flesh hover above the ground, bopping up and down. Everything I’ve worked for has been destroyed. . .and it’s all because of that thing haunting my beloved game. The game I would play with my friends constantly. The game that so many of my good memories revolved around. Could it all be over now? I really hope that this is a dream. 3:40 AM I feel like anonymous hands are tugging at my shoulders like a mother desperately trying to restrain their child from wandering off. At this point I feel I shouldn’t leave. Whatever this thing is, whatever is haunting my world, is trying to control me and I won’t let that happen. Though I don’t know what its motives are I won’t move until it either teleports me or guides me to where it wants me to go. If it somehow tricks me into doing something I shouldn’t it can’t be that bad, right? Its not like it can crawl out from the screen with the press of a button and strangle me to death. Maybe I shouldn’t be playing. Maybe it is controlling me, luring me into its evil lair or whatever. But perhaps it’s trying to ward me off. After all it did give me quite a scare less than an hour ago. But then why did it retrieve the world I thought I had deleted. What is it trying to do? I shake my head furiously until I give myself a headache and then take a look back at my screen with blurry vision. Funny. Is that a structure made of mossy cobblestone I see before me? It looks pretty average, like a 4x4 compartment. Was that there before? This must be the entities doing. Its obvious he wants me to go inside it. Even though I don’t want it to manipulate me in any sort of way, curiosity is different. That thing isn’t controlling me, I’m in control. This was my decision to play in the middle of the night. So, without another thought, I walk into the eerie structure, determined to solve this mystery once and for all. 3:45 AM This structure seemed all too familiar. It resembled something sometime in the infdev stage of Minecraft. Mojang had added something for players to spawn in, a mini house with a 2-block-tall hole for them to exit. Before long, it was changed from mossy cobblestone to wood, and shortly after it was removed completely. I started playing in 1.8 but couldn’t help but do a little research. I don’t expect much when I walk in, but I’m surprised to see a hole which upon looking down, appears to go down into the void. I think I might as well take my chances and jump down. Again, I’m taken by surprise when the darkness of the void is replaced with a crimson red, and I find myself falling into a pool of black water out in the middle of a superflat land made of netherack. I hop out of the small water source and look around. Nothing. No sign of life. No structures, no animals, nothing in existence. I feel like I’m going insane again. What am I doing here? This isn’t Minecraft, it can’t be. This isn’t possible. What does that thing want with me? That thing. What thing? Is there something even haunting my world? It seems like it. I can’t count how many times I’ve pinched myself, confirming that in no way I am dreaming. I just wish I could figure out what the hell is going on. There is no turning back now, I tell myself. But then, another voice appears in my head. One that is seemingly wiser. Is this really what you want? No. This isn’t what I want. This is what that thing wants. That’s when I have an idea: Minecraft is no longer a priority. I’ll just abandon it and pretend like none of this ever happened. Whether any of this is real or not, I’ll just try to forget about it. I attempt to turn off my tablet, but instead I’m met with otherworldly screams. I put my thumb over the part of the tablet which emits sound, but the horrific sounds refuse to die down. With my head between my shoulders I wince as the everlasting screams pierce my ears. I stuff the device back under my pillows, setting all my weight on it. And what seems like forever the screams cease, and I’m met with a comforting silence. That’s more like it, I tell myself as I slip under my covers. Even though my brain is still somewhat hyper after all that happened, I feel a sleepy sensation wrapping around me like the arms of two loving parents. My parents. Or rather, guardian angels. And before long, I’m fast asleep. And then a deep and guttural voice whispers from underneath my pillow, begging me to come back. 4:01 AM I can’t take it anymore. They won’t leave me alone. I can hear them bouncing around in my head, a variety of different voices seeping passed the boundaries of reality and mocking me relentlessly. They can’t be real. They just can’t be. None of this makes any sense. What does that thing want from me? Maybe it just wants to demolish my sanity, and so far, it’s doing one hell of a job. All I can do is curl up in the fetal position and pray to a god that may be out there to hush the voices. Please, don’t go just yet We have so much catching up to do I promise I won’t hurt you You’ll be mine soon… Why me? Why am I the one who has to be guilty? Why was I chosen to be apart of this whole ordeal? It doesn’t make any sense. I’m not the only one who plays videogames in the middle of the night. Hell, my friends do it. So why am I the one being haunted by the creatures of the night? It is beyond my understanding. Then again, they have no control over me, do they? Why do I have to let them push me around like a piece of broccoli by a kid who wouldn’t dare touch it? I may not know whats going on, but I can’t let them ruin me. My last bit of sanity. Its about time I call them out for the cowards they are. “Enough already!” I shout, not bothering to think about my folks who are still fast asleep. I yank the tablet out from underneath my pillow. I come face to face with the title screen, still glitching wildly. But I don’t care about that, I want to confront the bastards who have been causing me all these problems in the first place. Whether its just one entity or a thousand, I won’t stop until they show themselves. I get back into the world I never wanted to return to and ended up where I left off, a netherrack wasteland. That’s when I see it. 4:05 AM We just stand there, staring vacantly at each other. I shake with fear, knowing that at any moment something could happen. The figure is dark with two human-like eyes. They pierce pass my screen; I can feel it. That’s when I notice the thing behind him. Similar in size and is just as black, but dark portions of flickering pixels erupt from its heads and shoulders. Possibly flames. Though there is no telling what anything is at this point. I begin to type in the chat, attempting to threaten it, but nothing will appear. The entity in front makes a guttural noise that I can only assume is laughter. The entity behind it remains silent and immobile. I realize that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. What could I do? What am I even supposed to do? Whip out a diamond sword and go crazy? I don’t think that would be possible with my every move being traced by this bastard. I should’ve come in with a plan. That’s when an idea pops into my head: this thing knows what I’m doing in the real world, doesn’t it? It seems perfectly aware of my feelings and everything. I don’t know what I should do with this theory, but I give a shot at insulting it with my voice. “Hey, uhm. You know you really suck at this game.” The entity just laughs louder. So loud in fact that I have to drop the tablet and cup my hands over my ears. “Alright, enough already!” I shout through the hellish cackling, “What the hell do you want with me?” The entity abruptly stops making noise. I look back down at my cursed device and see that it has disappeared, leaving the secondary entity to stand there and stare at me eerily. That’s when I notice its eyes are completely white. 4:10 AM This entity is nothing like the other. Despite it just stand there, staring at me, this one is scarier. And very much so. Despite the air in my room is cool and a fan on my nightstand blows in my direction with ease, my face and palms are soaked in fearful sweat. My hear beats uncontrollably, and so fast it hurts my chest. Thats when I realize something. What if this thing can kill me? Drive me to suicide, make me suffer in my own shattered sanity? Yes. I am a fool. I was the whole time. The seconed I decided to go against my mother and father's rules and stayed up past my bedtime was the decision made by a retard. God, I'm sorry, I'm so...so sorry. I...I should've never...ever...disobeyed them. Tears rain down my cheeks. What am I crying for? I guess I'm more guilty than I am scared now. Pitiful. Could this night get any better for me? I see my own fluids soak into the screen. And then the dark-flamed entity finally decides to acknowledge my presence. With a raspy noise only a dying elderly man would make, the thing speaks eerily, but truthfully. "Didn't your mother tell you not to stay up past your bedtime?" Yes. Yes she did. 4:15 AM I wake up with a start. The first thing I hear is an unearthly wail. Prolong and unsetteling. I’m drenched in a seemingly tangible heat that sends me into a nauseous state. I realize I’m lying on the floor, my back aching from sudden and painful impact. In dizzying panic I shoot up and find my self falling over, luckily slapping against my bed sheets. Looking forward I see my tablet presenting a fiery glow, so impossibly emissive that it casts shadows across my room. They clash with the darkness of the interior, as if someone is fumbling with the light source within the screen. Its like something is literally dwelling in the device. Maybe, just maybe. . .that is the case. I must’ve, despite all that has been happening, finally fallen asleep and fell out of my bed. I was hoping this was all a dream when I woke up. I honestly felt a hint of relief. But now I realize that, no matter, what. That thing will be with me until it wants to leave. And I doubt it will let this night end. 12:08 AM? Hello reader. You may be wondering what we are doing all the way back here. You see that child, tossing and turning in his bed? You see the way he scooches up and reaches to grab his phone? Little does he know, what is about to transpire will change the way he sees the simplifies of things for as long as I will let him remember. Now you also may be wondering what I’m blabbering on about. But now is not the time to explain such things. For you already know what is about to happen, yet there is nothing you can do about it. If you really think about it, you may start seeking the reasons as to why the hell you are even reading this. Where is this story going? you may be asking within your simple mind. Well the truth is, there is no truth. Not in your world, and not within this text your eyes tirelessly skim through. There is nothing you need to fear from your viewpoint. At least, that’s what you imagine. But little do you know, there is always something behind you. You just have to be willing to accept that truth. Just like this lad here is about to do. Author's note: I should've planned this entire thing out because with an improvised storyline, comes a rubbish ending like the one you see above. Blah. And sorry this took over five flipping months to finish, I was terribly busy in-between. Category:Supernatural Category:Shrautsticks Category:Nightmare Category:Creepypasta Category:Long Pastas